The Natural Perfumers Guild: November 2010

Monday, November 15, 2010

Giveaway drawing and 20% off Natural Perfumers Guild membership through February 14th, 2010

The Natural Perfumers Guild is having a membership drive. There are vintage and contemporary perfumery books and article included in the membership, plus many prizes to be awarded in a random drawing of the names of the new members. Fees are marked 20% off the usual rate, and can be found at here. The dozens of books and articles that new members can download are listed here.

Deadline to join at the reduced membership rate and be in the drawing is Nov. 30th. Winners may state their choice of prize from the following list:

*Five one-year Basenotes Supporters memberships A $59 value*

Thinking of starting a perfume business? Take part in the chat on the most active perfume site on the Internet. The Basenotes Plus (née Basenotes Supporters) is a great way to connect to the community.

*One Basic Natural Perfumery textbook A $500 value*

This is the textbook for Guild President Anya McCoy's Basic Natural Perfumery course. 349 full-color pages. Winner will be emailed a .zip file of charts, forms, alcohol regs in several countries, MSDS and CoA forms and much more.

*Gift basket from Arly's Naturals A $95 value*

Pamper yourself with these all-natural aromatic goodies.

ARLYS Gold Oval Gift Basket containing:
1- 16 oz. Awakening Shower Gel
1- 4 oz. Bulgarian Rose Hydrosol
1- 10 ml. Serenity Synergy
1- Travel Pocket Diffuser
1- Nefertiti Mini Perfume Bottle
1- Sm. Lavender Sachet

*Catalogues from Mandy Aftel's exhibit at Bendel's NYC *

These illustrated catalogues are collector's items for the natural perfume lover.

*Eden Botanicals Aromatics Kit #2 A $190 value *

These kits are created for Anya McCoy's Basic Perfumery course and contain 59 essences. Winner will be emailed supporting aromatics monographs and information.

Note: this current offer is open to new members only, not renewals.

Sign up here.

Outlaw Perfume Project - A Natural Perfumers Guild Artistic Statement

Anya McCoy here, president of the Natural Perfumers Guild, and I'd like to introduce you to our latest project, Outlaw Perfume.

Soon after I started blogging in 2006, I began to write of the incredibly restrictive and unreasonable "guidelines" of the International Fragrance Association, and the resultant laws from the European Union that effectively killed perfumery. True, they also ranked some synthetics as "dangerous" (brain disruptions), but the list of naturals, which had been used for centuries without major problems, was overwhelming. I rarely bother to blog about these issues anymore. I discovered I was the ONLY perfumer doing so at the time, and it cast a bit of a bitter pall over my blog. I'd rather be blogging about the beauty and luxury of naturals, so here I am.

I passed the ball on to other bloggers! Nine bloggers will be participating this week, and you can find their links at the end of this post.

They're all insightful, intelligent and passionate about perfumery. Their readership far outstrips mine, and the Outlaw Perfume project is a great way for them to spread the word about this abomination against natural aromatics. They also get to sample the gorgeous perfumes created by the Natural Perfumers Guild members (disclaimer: I'm the president of the Guild) and offer a giveaway of the Outlaw Perfume on their blogs.

I've always been someone who challenges authority. In the 60's, I marched for civil rights, against the Vietnam War, and for women's rights. This IFRA and EU-driven blacklisting agenda against naturals must stop. Readers, please remember that they're stomping on *your* rights to choose what you put on or in your body.

Anyone can use common sense and not put perfume on skin that is exposed to sunlight, so, there, the photo-sensitization problem of some of the citruses, angelica root, etc., solved ;-) Think you may be a bit sensitized to oakmoss? Wear the perfume in your hair, or on your clothing, or in a perfume jewelry piece.

I'm taking photos of vinaigrettes and perfume lockets that I'll share later this week. They're a beautiful addition to a jewelry wardrobe, and serve a double purpose of gently releasing your perfume. It's all about our choice, and not bowing down to nanny-state governments. How simple if a warning label, some perfume dabbed in your hair, or on your clothing, or in a piece of pretty jewelry solves this problem. Or, if you're a daring outlaw like me - wear it on your skin!

The bloggers will be posting their commentaries and reviews Nov. 15 - Nov. 21, 2010. I'm delighted by the prospect of lively and informed posts by readers.

Participating Perfumers: